In his first appearance since losing his anchor job, Williams handled a NBC News special report Tuesday on the closure of LA public schools.

Lester Holt, who replaced Williams as "NBC Nightly News" anchor, was out sick.

NBC News said Williams himself reported on the LA schools story one day after returning from back surgery to repair a herniated disc.

Brian Williams anchored from New York, joined by Pete Williams in Washington and Joe Fryer in Los Angeles.

Earlier this year, Williams was suspended for six months after acknowledging that he misled viewers about his role in news stories. He returned as an anchor in September, reassigned to handling breaking news on MSNBC.

When NBC News created Williams' new role, it included handling special network reports if Holt was unavailable.